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Introduction to Microscopy: What Microscopes Do and Key Terms
A beginner's introduction to microscopy: what microscopes actually do, the main types, the parts of a compound microscope, key terms and everyday uses.
How Microscopes Work
Microscopy Basics
What microscopes are, the main types, how lenses form images and how to start microscopy as a hobby.
Getting Started With Amateur Microscopy as a Hobby
How to start amateur microscopy: choosing a first microscope, avoiding toy models, basic supplies, easy first specimens, wet mounts and safe habits.
How a Compound Microscope Works: Following the Light Path From Lamp to Eye
Follow the light through a compound microscope, from lamp and condenser to objective, eyepiece and eye, and learn why the image is magnified and inverted.
How a Simple Microscope Works (and How It Differs From a Telescope)
The principle of the simple microscope explained: how one convex lens forms a magnified virtual image, the magnification formula, and how microscopes differ from telescopes.
How Lenses Magnify: Refraction Basics for Microscope Users
How lenses magnify objects: refraction, focal length, virtual images and angular size explained simply, plus what it means for microscope lenses and resolution.
Light vs Electron Microscopes: Differences and Pros and Cons
How light and electron microscopes differ in resolution, magnification, sample prep and cost, with the main advantages and disadvantages of each type.
Real vs Virtual Images in a Microscope, Explained Simply
A compound microscope makes a real image with its objective and a virtual image with its eyepiece. Learn the difference, why it's inverted and why it matters.
The First Light Microscope and the History of Microscopy
Who made the first light microscope? The history of microscopy from flea glasses and the Janssen claim to Hooke, Leeuwenhoek, Abbe and the electron microscope.
Types of Microscopes Used in Biology
The main types of microscopes used in biology (compound, stereo, inverted, fluorescence, electron and scanning probe), plus the main types of compound light microscope.
What are the 7 types of light microscopes?
The 7 types of light microscopes commonly listed are brightfield, stereo, darkfield, phase contrast, fluorescence, confocal and polarizing. Here's what each one does.
What is a light microscope?
A light microscope uses visible light and glass lenses to magnify small specimens. Learn how it works, its main parts, what it can and can't show, and its uses.
What is a microscope?
A microscope is an instrument for viewing objects too small to see clearly with the naked eye. Here's what it does, how it works, the main kinds and how small it can see.
What is the difference between telescopes?
Telescopes differ mainly in how they gather light (lenses, mirrors or both), in aperture and focal length, and in how they're mounted. Here's what each type does.
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